MADRID, 12 Jul. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Spanish men’s and women’s rugby 7 teams have been received this Wednesday by the president of the Higher Sports Council (CSD), Víctor Francos, at an event in which he was “proudly” offered the bronze and silver medals won in Rugby Europe Sevens Championship 2023, respectively.
Represented by their captains, Eduardo López and Anne Fernández de Corres, Leones7s and Leonas7s have been protagonists, at the CSD headquarters in Madrid, of the organization’s reception, led by Francos, for the recent successes in the European Championship. Also present at the event were the coaches, Paco Hernández and Alberto Socías, the director of rugby, José Antonio Barrio, and the sports vice president of the Spanish Rugby Federation (FER), Gabriel Sáez.
The women’s team fell to France in the final of the Hamburg tournament, the second and last stop on the continental circuit, to get the tournament’s silver. While the masculine, after winning the title in the Hamburg event, they hung the bronze of the general classification.
“We are very happy with the FER and its results. We do not have excessive merit, because we distribute the money in the best possible way, with the awareness that it is always insufficient and we work so that there is more. In 2017, the budget was slightly more than 200 million, in 2023 it will be more than 380,” Francos began his speech.
The Secretary of State for Sport assured that the subsidy for rugby “is money with a return and well invested”. “3It is not usual to have these results in both categories, I want to encourage the men’s section for this pre-Olympic, we will be with you, helping. We will continue betting on this noble sport,” he warned about the future of the Lions7s.
Francos made it clear that the CSD is “the house of sport, with the door open to everyone.” “You can come whoever you want, we are here to receive you, we will see if we have happiness in the coming months,” he wished.
From the FER, Gabriel Sáez celebrated “a day of gratitude and pride for the country” for the bronze and silver achieved by both teams in the European Championship. “It’s a trend in Spanish sport that we have to be tremendously proud of. You are capable of beating anyone, very few teams can say that,” he stressed.
“Spanish rugby is very grateful for the work of the players and the coaching staff, of all those who have been in the Sevens structure. You are a reference, we will be able to continue climbing positions in the World Series ranking and a permanent in the Games, we will always be a medal option”, he commented.
Sáez did not miss the opportunity to thank the CSD for the “economic and moral support” that Spanish rugby receives. “These results come with tremendous efficacy given these resources,” he noted. “We are a great sport, we fill stadiums massively, we are a rugby country with almost 40,000 chips. There is a very important latent hobby, and above all we are a sport of values,” he said about the discipline.
“In the revolution that this Federation is undertaking, we come with great strength, passion and dedication. Hopefully we can count on the house of Spanish rugby, we don’t have a stadium, and we understand that public aid is important, we want the fishing rod to catch the fish”, recalled Sáez, who insisted that “this stadium will be impossible without the support of the Government”. “It is necessary to have this medium-capacity venue for us to develop all our activity,” he reiterated.
Finally, the women’s and men’s coaches, Alberto Socías and Paco Hernández, respectively, valued the “manager’s commitment” to Sevens, creating an “environment that has helped” the players to give more of themselves. “Without the support or resources that we have every day, it is impossible to have a group dedicated one hundred percent to sport. With more resources, better results are achieved. We are very grateful, we hope to return enjoying many more medals,” Hernández settled.